Sportsman&#39;s life preserver garment



Feb. 18,1958 0. E. ERICKSON SPORTSMAN'S LIFE PRESERVER GARMENT FiledJuly 19, 1954 I INVENTOR. CHARLES E. ElZ/CKSON A ITOEA/E/S' UnitedStates Patent 2,823,396 SPORTSMANS LIFE PRESERVER'GARMENT Charles E.Erickson, Seattle, Wash. Application July 19, 1954, Serial No. 444,099 5Claims. (Cl. 9-20) This invention relates to a novel life preservergarment in the nature of an inflatable utility apron. The invention isherein illustratively described by reference to the presently preferredform thereof; however, it will be evident to those skilled in the artthat certain modifications and changes therein may be made withoutdeparting from the essential features involved.

An object of this invention is a reliably safe life preserver garmentwhich will be comfortable and convenient to wear, hence will be worn atall times when needed and not set aside as so often are the bulky,cumbersome and heavily padded kapok and cork lined life preserverjackets of conventional types. In that regard, many men, especiallysports fishermen, are frequently reluctant to be seen, or to bebothered, wearing a life preserver garment even when conditions aredangerous. With that in view it is a further important object of thisinvention to provide a life preserver garment which incorporates utilityfeatures, including carrying pockets characterizing the garmentprimarily as a utility garment of such a nature that its true primaryfunction as a life preserver garment is not outwardly apparent.

A related object is such a life preserver garment of simple, rugged anddurable construction provided with easily manipulated take-upadjustments in the novel harness means incorporated therein, so as topermit fitting the garment satisfactorily to persons of widely differentsizes, including children and adults.

A related object is a life preserver garment having a pneumaticallyinflatable bladder which is securely mounted in a retaining pocketwithin the double-walled garment, and yet may be easily and quicklyinspected or removed for repairs, if necessary, all without complicatingthe construction of the garment.

In accordance with this invention the novel life preserver garment ismade in the form of a double-walled utility apron having front and rearpanels secured to gether marginally to form a retaining pocket for apneumatically inflatable bladder received therebetween, there being anopening between the two panels at the bottom of the garment for theinsertion and removal of the bladder, and said bladder being held inposition within the garment preferably by the connections for at leastone pneumatic inflating device situated near the top of the apron forready access by the wearer. Carrying pockets, and preferably also asecuring pad for fishing hooks and flies are incorporated in the garmentto give. it special utility and an outward appearance characterizing itonly secondarily as a life preserver garment so that it will be worn bysports fishermen and not set aside. A novel harness means is providedcomprising a girth strap secured by one end to one side of the apron atwaist level and secured at-its opposite end to adjustable take-up meansfastened to the opposite side of the apron, and a pair of shoulderstraps terminating in a back strap having aplurality of loops arrangedin succession along the length thereof which are selectively engageableby the girth strap tdaccornmodatc different size persons. Bymanufacturing the garment in the form of an apron covering only thefront of a persons body and wrapping only part way around the body evenof the smallest wearer, and by providing the adjustable harness feature,the same gannent may be worn satisfactorily by anyone regardless ofphysical size.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the invention willbecome more fully evident from the following description by reference tothe accompanying drawings illustrating the invention in its presentlypreferred form.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved garment.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the vertical section line2-2 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the provision of abladder insertion and removal opening at the bottom of the apron and theconvenience with. which the bladder may be inspected and inserted orremoved.

Referring to the drawings, the apron 10 having front and rear panels 10aand 10b of poplin or other suitable, preferably fabric material, isdesigned to cover only the front and to wrap part way around the sidesof the wearers body for reasons previously explained. The precise shapeof the panels is not critical; however, it is desirable in order tosimplify manufacture of the apron and of the bladder 12 retained betweenthe front and rear panels, that the panels be of relatively simpleconfiguration. The front and rear panels are sewn or otherwise securedtogether around substantially the entire periphery thereof to form theretaining pocket 10c receiving the pneumatically inflatable bladder 12.A bladder insertion and re.- moval opening 10d is provided centrally inthe lower edge of the apron 10 and is preferably of a length such that apersons hand may be conveniently inserted into the pocket in order tofacilitate the insertion and secure-- ment of the bladder, and itsremoval when necessary. However, the opening 10d is made no longer thanneces-' sary for that purpose since the bladder is supported againstsagging or displacement in its uninflated condition bythe stitching 10eor other means of securement holding together the side portions and thelower edges of the two panels.

Except for the opening 10d the panels are preferably secured togetheraround substantially their entire periph ery. Preferably, the only meansof securement of the bladder within the retaining pocket 10c comprisethe one or more inflating devices used. In the example, two inflatingdevices are incorporated in the garment,'one coma prising the oralinflating device 14 and the other, the carbon dioxide cartridge typeinflating device 16. Bothv inflating devices are mounted near the upperedge of the apron, not only for ready operational accessibility with thegarment being worn, but also for purposes of suspending the bladder inits correct position within the retaining pocket 10c when the bladder isuninflated. When the bladder is inflated, of course, it tends to holditself in the correct position because of its general conformity withthe interior configuration of the retaining pocket.

The oral inflating device 14 comprises the upwardlyturned pipe elbow14a, retained in the bladder 12 bya backing flange 141) received withinthe bladder and cemented to the inside of the front wall thereof aroundthe aperture through which the pipe 14a passes. The pipe 14a passesthrough an aperture in the front panel 10a.

and through an aligned aperture in the sheepskin strip 18, which is sewnhorizontally on the front face of the panel 10a to serve as a combinedcarrying pocket and securing pad for fishing flies, hooks, etc. Thesheepskin pad is preferably sewnto the panel 16:: around the aperture ofthe inflation pipe 14a so as to prevent unraveling of the fabric of thepanel 10a around such aperture. A flexible rubber extension tube Me ispressed on the end of the elbow 14a and projects upwardly therefrom to aheight at which the wearer may reach the combined valve and inflationnozzle led on the upper end thereof with his or her mouth when thegarment is being worn. The stiffness of tube 140 maintains it in thisposition.

The inflation device 16 comprises a conventional carbon dioxide-filledcartridge (not shown) contained within the tubular shell 16a having thesealing cap 16d threaded thereon so as to form a sealed compartmentwithin the shell. A perforating pin (not shown) actuated by a lever 160with a pull cord and handle 16d punctures the lower end of the carbondioxide cartridge when the handle is pulled and produces the necessaryinflation of the bladder through an inflation tube (not shown) mountedsimilarly to the tube 14a except for the provision of the removablesecuring screw Me which holds the device 16 in place on the front of thegarment and connected to the bladder through the sheepskin strip 18 andthe front panel 10a. The details of the carbon dioxide inflation device16 are of incidental interest and do not constitute a part of thepresent invention. The two alternatively usable inflation devicesmounted on the front and near the top of the apron l0 serve as the solesupport for the bladder within the pocket ltlc. By removing the bolt16s, the inflation device 16 may be detached and the bladder may beremoved from the apron through the opening 10d at the bottom. For thatpurpose the inflation device 14 and the connecting tube (not shown) forthe device 16 simply retract back through their retaining apertures inthe front panel 10a and the sheepskin pad 18 when the bladder is beingwithdrawn through opening 19d.

As mentioned above, the sheepskin pad 18 serves as a securing pad forfishing flies and also as a carrying pocket, the upper edge of the padbeing unattached to the front panel 10a whereas the lower edge of suchpad and the side edges thereof are sewn to the panel or otherwisesecured thereto. Additional carrying pockets provided on the aproninclude the two lower pockets 10] and the several upper pockets 10g,covered by the flap 10h. The garment is thus highly useful for carryingthe various accoutrements used in sports fishing, hunting or in otheroutdoor sports or other activities in connection with which a lifepreserver type garment is desirable.

In order to hold the utility apron-like life preserver garment firmly incorrect position on the wearer, a novel harness arrangement is provided.A harness girth strap 20 is secured by one end to one side of the apronit) at waist level and extends around the persons body for adjustablesecurement to a tab 26a fastened to the opposite side of the apron atthe same level. In this case the takeup adjustment of the girth strap isaccomplished by passing the free end of the strap through a set of tworings 20b fastened to the tab 20a, and constituting a conventional typeof one-way sliding adjustment of a fabric strap. Obviously other typesof securing devices for adjustable take-up of the girth strap may beprovided, to the same ends. The harness additionally comprises a pair ofshoul der straps 22 secured to the top of the apron at respectivelyopposite sides thereof and extending rearwardly over the wearersshoulders, converging at the back. of the wearer and being connected tothe upper end of the back strap 24 as shown. The back strap is doubled,that is, comprises two coextending straps 24a and 24b which are sewn orotherwise secured together at intervals along the length thereof toprovide a series of retaining loops or the like for the girth strap 2%)at successive locations along the length of the back strap. In theexample, three such re taining loops are provided in the back strap, andthereby permit three different size adjustments to be made in theharness. Obviously, however, any number of retaining loops in the backstrap may be provided in order to permit the making of closer or moreextensive size adjustments. Since the apron-like garment it isnotrequired to fit the body of the wearer in any particular way, but.only to overlie the front of the torso, and since the requisite sizeadjustments may be made solely with the novel harness means employed inthe garment, it is apparent that considerable savings may be elfected inthe cost of manufacturing such a life preserver garment, as against thecost of manufacturingconventional garments which are required to be ofdifferent sizes in order to fit different size persons. The costs oftooling up to manufacture a device in but one size will obviously beconsiderably less than those in tooling up to manufacture a garmentwhich must be manufactured in different sizes in order to satisfy themarket requirements. Nevertheless the operational efliciency of thegarment as a life preserver and its utility as a carrying apron are notmaterially affected by size differences of persons wearing the same.

It will further be obvious that the provision of carrying pockets andother utility features in such a garment lend considerably to its apealto sportsmen. The fact that it does not encase the wearers body butcovers primarily only the chest and the upper part of the abdomen alsoadds to its appeal especially in warm weather and under conditions whenthe arms and shoulders must be free in order to handle fishing poles,guns and other sports equipment. The device may also be Worn by workers,such as loggers and others who must work on and about docks, boats, andother marine equipment and installations.

I claim as my invention:

1. A life preserver garment comprising a double-walled apron-likegarment having front and rear panels secured together marginally to forma bottom-opening bladderretaining pocket, a pneumatically inflatablebladder retained loosely in said pocket and conforming generally inshape to the interior thereof, said bladder being removable through thebottom pocket opening in said garment, said bladder having an inflationelement on the front and near the top thereof, said garment front panelhaving an opening therein through which said inflation element projectsforwardly for access in front of said garment, thereby to suspend saidbladder in said pocket by said forwardly projecting inflation element,said inflation element being retractable through said projectionopening, and harness means comprising a pair of shoulder strapsconnected to the upper portion of said garment on respectively oppositesides thereof to pass rearwardly therefrom over the wearers shouldersand downwardly along the wearers back, and girth strap means connectedto said shoulder straps and adapted to extend around the wearers waistfor holding the garment in place.

2. The life preserver garment defined in claim 1, wherein the inflationelement comprises an oral inflation tube means projecting forwardlythrough the front panel of said garment and upwardly a suflicientdistance to be reachable by the wearers mouth for inflation of saidbladder, and valve means operable to hold air in said bladder.

3. The life preserver garment defined in claim 2, wherein thefirst-mentioned inflation element is located on one side of center ofthe garment, and a second inflation element located on the opposite sideof center of the garment, said second inflation element comprising atube projecting through a second opening in the front wall of thegarment, and a normally actuatable compressed gas cartridge meansconnected to said second tube for emergency inflations of said bladder,said first and second inflation elements supporting said bladdersuspended evenly therefrom in said garment pocket.

4. The life preserver-garment defined in claim 1, wherein the shoulderstrap means further comprises a back strap interconnecting the rearwardends of the shoulder straps to extend downwardly therefrom, said. backstrap having retaining loop elements successively arranged along thelength thereof, said girth strap being of a size'and shape to extendselectively through any of said loop elements.

to establish the required length of back strap to fit the wearer.

5. A sportsmans life preserver utility garment comprising adouble-walled apron-like garment having front and rear panels securedtogether marginally along the top and sides thereof to form abottom-opening bladderretaining pocket, means forming carrying pocketson the front of said garment, a pneumatically inflatable bladderretained between said front and rear panels and having an inflationelement accessibly located on said garment to permit inflation of saidbladder by the wearer with the garment being worn, said inflationelement projecting outwardly through the front wall of said garment nearthe top thereof, said pocket-forming means including a strip ofsheepskin sewn to the front panel near the top thereof 16 to form areinforcement for said front panel around the inflation elementprojecting therethrough, the sides and bottom of said strip being sewnto the front panel to form a carrying pocket, and the outer side of saidstrip having the sheeps hair thereon forming a securing pad for fishinghooks and flies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS262,577 Day Aug. 15, 1882 727,444 Recordon May 5, 1903 977,065 BerryNov. 29, 1910 1,291,448 Edmonds Jan. 14, 1919 FOREIGN PATENTS 546,082Great Britain June 26, 1942

